


Never forget

by bunnysworld



Category: Doctor Who, Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-23 16:19:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4883527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunnysworld/pseuds/bunnysworld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Tardis had landed at Camelot Mansion, Arthur was more than ready to run with the Doctor. Where would the Tardis take them now?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never forget

**Author's Note:**

> Written to fill my tropes bingo squares: fusion and time travel
> 
> I hope it makes sense...
> 
> I think I blacked out my card with this. Whohooooooo!
> 
> Sorry, not beta'd.

Arthur blinked. Three weeks ago, or tomorrow, who knew?, this tall stranger had stumbled into his life. Or rather – a blue box had fallen from the sky into the yard of Camelot Mansion, an old-fashioned police box. When he had approached it to find out what this was all about, the door had opened and the stranger had scrambled out, all black hair, blue eyes and huge ears, skinny jeans, blue t-shirt and red neckerchief. He didn’t introduce himself, but waved impatiently for Arthur to enter. 

Carefully, he had stepped into the box and gaped. This darn thing was bigger on the inside! He tried to find out how it worked, but the next couple of days had been a flurry of running and ducking and finding out secrets and barely escaping what were – as far as the bloke said – aliens that didn’t mean well with earth and its inhabitants. 

When Arthur had time to breathe for the first time in what felt like forever, he had asked questions, lots of questions. The only thing he found out that the bloke referred to himself as The Doctor – yes, capital letters – and was from a planet named Gallifrey, wherever that might be, the Doctor didn’t seem to know it either. Yet, he babbled on about being Northern Irish this time and unfortunately still not ginger.

It was all very confusing, but Arthur had never had so much fun in his whole life. So when the Doctor asked him to come along, he couldn’t refuse. What did he have to lose? All he ever was allowed to do was sit about in the mansion and kill time with ‘appropriate activities’ until he had to be at his father’s side to represent, it was boring him out of his mind. 

The Tardis – the blue phone box that was actually a time machine – took them to incredible places and Arthur saw creatures he couldn’t ever have imagined. He liked science fiction movies, but the real thing was so much better!

“So, where do you want to go next? Or should I say…when?” The Doctor grinned and the whole room lit up, his eyes crinkling up to half-moons.

“I…I don’t know…” Arthur couldn’t believe it, the Doctor wanted him to decide what to do next? “Doesn’t the Tardis feel where we’re needed? I mean…where you are needed? To moments that are important?”

The Doctor nodded. “Brilliant! Come on, lovely, take Arthur to a moment that is important!”

The odd wheezing sound that had worried Arthur in the beginning could be heard as the Tardis started. 

“Where will we go?”

“We’ll find out.” 

It was strange that the Doctor never seemed to worry where his box would take them, but if he trusted the machine, so could Arthur. 

It didn’t take them long and the box stood still. 

“Want to go and see where she took us?”

Arthur nodded and went to the door, opening it carefully. His shoulders slumped. 

“What’s wrong?”

“She brought me home. Seems she doesn’t like me very much.” But then Arthur noticed that this wasn’t the Camelot Mansion he had just left. The old oak tree that fell victim to a storm last winter was there and the swimming pool looked brand new. 

Only then he noticed the woman in the deck chair.

“Mother!” This couldn’t be! Well, it could, he had seen what the Tardis could do. But why would she take him to see his mother? 

Arthur felt the Doctor’s hand on his shoulder. 

“She can’t hear or see you. And you should not try to make contact anyway.”

The Doctor had explained about paradox in time and whatever, Arthur had only understood that it was most important that people couldn’t meet themselves in the past or the future or else terrible things would happen. Or something. 

“But…why are we here, then?” Arthur threw a look over his shoulder.

Squeezing his shoulder, the Doctor smiled encouragingly. “The Tardis thought you needed to see this.”

“Can I…can I get a bit closer?”

“Let’s go over there, behind the bush, you can see her and we won’t interfere.”

Arthur crept closer, even though the Doctor had said that his mother couldn’t see or hear them. He held his breath when he saw what she was holding. A little baby. Him.

“You are the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me, Arthur, do you know that?” Ygraine cooed at the baby who watched her with wide eyes. “And look at you! Aren’t you the most beautiful little thing underneath the sun? You’ll break quite a few hearts when you’re grown up, I’m very sure.”

Swallowing hard, Arthur couldn’t look away. He had no memory of his mother, he only knew what the servants had told him when he was little and the few photos he had seen. She was beautiful and her face was so kind. 

A maid appeared. “Mrs. Pendragon, you asked me to remind you of your appointment with Dr. Becker at three.”

Ygraine smiled. “Thank you, Agnes.” She got up. “Would you take care that my little sunshine here has everything he needs until I’ll be back?”

“Of course, Mrs. Pendragon.”

“No!” Arthur shook his head. No, this couldn’t be! His mother had an accident on her way to this very appointment. She never came back. He had to prevent this!

He felt the hand on his shoulder again and blinked against the tears he hadn’t noticed building. “What?”

“Fixed point in time, Arthur. There is nothing we can do about it.”

“But why are we here, then? We need to stop it! She can’t go!”

The Doctor motioned to where Ygraine was still holding the baby.

“I’m going to miss you so much, Arthur. Be a good boy while I’m gone.” She kissed the baby’s head and whispered. “Never forget that I love you.” Then she handed the baby, who looked after her, over to Agnes, waved and left.

Never forget that I love you. 

Hours after the Doctor had all but dragged him back into the Tardis where Arthur had just leaned against a wall, sank down and let his tears fall, he was still sitting there. He had always felt as if his father was angry at him, as if the accident that had taken his mother away was his fault. Uther had always left him under the impression that his mother had to see Dr. Becker because of something that had gone wrong while he was being born. He never talked about his wife, never told Arthur stories about her. After a while, Arthur had started to believe that his mother hadn’t liked him very much, no matter what the staff told him. Now he knew better.

Sniffing and brushing his hand underneath his nose, he got up. Touching the wall right next to him, he whispered “Thank you.”

The Doctor, who had busied himself with something on the console in the middle of the room, looked up and smiled widely. “Ready to go?”

Arthur smiled back and nodded. “Where ever she will take us.”


End file.
